Craig Hallum Begins Coverage on Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL)

Research analysts at Craig Hallum initiated coverage on shares of Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Craig Hallum’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 29.07% from the company’s current price.

VITL has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Vital Farms from $46.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Vital Farms from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Vital Farms from $45.00 to $41.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Vital Farms has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Vital Farms Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ VITL opened at $38.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.81 and a current ratio of 3.24. Vital Farms has a one year low of $14.16 and a one year high of $48.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.59 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s fifty day moving average is $34.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.39.

Vital Farms (NASDAQ:VITL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.14 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $145.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $145.27 million. Vital Farms had a net margin of 8.68% and a return on equity of 22.29%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.10 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Vital Farms will post 1.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Vital Farms

In related news, CEO Russell Diez-Canseco sold 44,728 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.66, for a total transaction of $1,684,456.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 613,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,115,595.02. This represents a 6.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Matthew Ohayer sold 24,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.09, for a total transaction of $938,160.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,194,777 shares in the company, valued at approximately $281,243,832.93. This trade represents a 0.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,381 shares of company stock valued at $4,411,862 over the last quarter. Insiders own 27.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vital Farms

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in VITL. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in Vital Farms in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Vital Farms by 180.4% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,290 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 830 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Vital Farms by 66.7% in the second quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vital Farms in the second quarter worth approximately $97,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in Vital Farms in the second quarter valued at approximately $168,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 98.59% of the company’s stock.

About Vital Farms

Vital Farms, Inc, a food company, provides pasture-raised products in the United States. It offers shell eggs, butter, hard-boiled eggs, and liquid whole eggs. The company was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Austin, Texas.